American car enthusiasts (myself included) spend a lot of time bemoaning the demise of the station wagon in the U.S., but perhaps even more annoying to wagon die-hards is the proliferation of wagons that are fitted with a lift kit and body cladding to make them more appealing to American buyers. Such models include the Mercedes-Benz E-Class All-Terrain and Audi A6 Allroad, but one of the most talked about is the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo.
While the rest of the world gets every trim of the longroof Taycan in Sport Turismo guise, which is a traditional wagon without any SUV-like styling, we only get the Sport Turismo in the GTS trim. Otherwise, if you want a Taycan wagon in the U.S. you’re stuck with the Cross Turismo, which is fitted with a slight lift plus plastic cladding on the wheel arches, chunkier bumper designs and thicker side skirts. It’s still obviously an awesome car, but it’s just not as cool as a regular wagon would be. Luckily there’s a solution, as evidenced by this Cross Turismo I saw at Race Service’s morning car show today — you can just take the cladding off.
I didn’t get a chance to talk to the owner about this particular car, but a quick Google search shows that it’s a pretty easy process. One owner on the Taycan forum found there are only three alignment pins for each wheel arch, which can be easily filled in with hole plugs. (If you go for the Off-Road Design Package option, only one is even visible.) As the Taycan I saw had black paint, I didn’t even notice the plugs, and looking at the photos now they’re so small that I don’t think it would bother me if I was an owner.
The owner of this Taycan left on the Cross Turismo’s unique bumper designs and side skirts, which I think look really cool even without the wheel arch cladding to go with them. Assisting with the cool factor are the 21-inch Rotiform TUF wheels, which I think perfectly suit the Taycan.
So if you’re interested in getting a Taycan wagon but don’t want the SUV-aping cladding, don’t let that deter you from getting the electric longroof of your dreams. With just a little bit of manual labor, you can get it looking sporty and clean — and the Cross Turismos are fitted with an adjustable air suspension, so lowering the ride height back down to regular levels should be easy too.
